Biographies & History in Magic & Conjuring: page 3

Houdini was upset that the widow of Robert-Houdin did not want to meet him. As a revenge Harry Houdini wrote The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin, in which Houdini tries to push Robert-Houdin from his pedestal. He tries to show that most tricks Robert-Houdin claimed as his invention were in fact not his invention and that Robert-Houdin was not this great magician he usually is thought he was. But most of Houdini's allegations are fabricated and do not stand close inspection. Jean Hugard wrote as response to Houdini's nasty book Houdini's Unmasking, where Hugard point for point refutes Houdini's argumentation. I personally favor Hugard's opinion,...

A promotional book with photos and newspaper reports retelling various stunts and performances of Harry Houdini.

• Official Police News From Germany!
• In The Name Of The King
• Royal Police Presidium
• Mighty Audience
• Houdini Handcuffed
• False Hope Overthrown
• A Welcome Concession
• Frock Coat Sacrificed
• Victory
• Presentation Model
• A Sportsman's Telegram
• An Episode In Houdini's Life
• Condemned Murderers Released By Houdini
• Crowd Quickly Gathers
• Ponderous Barred Door
• Prisoners Are Dumbfounded
• Some Of The Great Feats Accomplished By Houdini
• Wizard In Gaol
• Surrenders To Police
• Startled...

During the 1925-26 season this program was sold at Houdini's shows in the lobby of theaters.

• Houdini - A Biography
• Some of the Wonderful Feats Accomplished by Houdini
• Houdini's Greatest Thrill
• Magical Tricks and Illusions
  • The Vanishing Matches
  • The Mysterious Thumb Tie
  • The Vest Turning Mystery
  • The Spirit Release
  • The Spirit Knots
  • The Vanishing Knot
  • Surgery Extraordinary
  • The Restored Tooth-pick
  • Black or Red
  • A Good Coin Trick
  • The Sphinx
  • The Thauma Illusion
  • The Magic Butterflies
  • The Rope Amputation
  • A Subtle Dime Vanish
• A Few Personal Facts
• Houdini Reveals He "Reads" Minds ...

This is a reprint of an interesting book from 1895. Mr. Burlingame covers the earliest days of magic, then goes into detail about magic and magicians as they existed in the 19th century. This material is seldom found in magic books of today, but the man who would be a complete magician should know something of the history of the art he follows. Well written and very interesting reading.

1st edition 1895, 1st digital edition 2013, 44 pages.

Wonderful biographical information about magician Baron Hartwig Seeman, and juggler William D'Alvini. Also includes a chapter on the German magician Bellachini and a fascinating chapter on the psychology of conjuring.

• CHAPTER I. Introductory Remarks
• CHAPTER II. Life Of Professor Seeman
• CHAPTER III. Thrilling Experiences With Ole Bull
• CHAPTER IV. A Visit To The Pyramids
• CHAPTER V. The Czar Befriends The Magician
• CHAPTER VI. To England, Africa And India
• CHAPTER VII. Experiences With A Great Fakir
• CHAPTER VIII. A Problem Solved
• CHAPTER IX. Martin Luther's Wedding Ring
• CHAPTER X. William...

From the preface:

A docu-drama (dramatized documentary) on the identity of the mystery author of a classic book on sleight-of-hand with cards.

The best magicians of the 21st century set out on a journey to search for the lost author of the most legendary book about the art of sleight of hand. S.W. Erdnase is the pseudonym of the man thought to be the most notorious card shark of the 19th century. His book The Expert at the Card Table is now considered the card conjurer's bible, making it compulsory reading for any magician. It took more than 30 years after its publication for the true value of the book to be appreciated. His true identity remains...

This is the most complete history of Abbott's Magic, and in particular it covers the long history of the Abbott's Get Together.

• Welcome to the 2016 Abbott Compendium
• Abbott's Historical Documentation
• Art of the Abbott Catalog
• Art of the Get Together
• Complete Get Together Performer List
• Timeline of Abbott's and the Get Together
• 2016 Magic Capital Events
• 79th Get Together August 3-8 2016

1st edition 2016, 521 pages.

This is Goodliffe's own story. The facts and stories about Abracadabra from the man behind it all. Goodliffe has seen more magicians at work than anyone else and he has very clear views about what makes magic tick. Now that Goodliffe is no longer with us this is your only chance to hear Goodliffe speaking. Absolutely fascinating material.

[This is a licensed reproduction of the famous Magicassette series created by Martin Breese - now owned by Lybrary.com.]

runtime: 45 minutes

This is volume 2 of the fascinating memoir of Goodliffe, a unique character with wisdom you can learn a great deal from.

[This is a licensed reproduction of the famous Magicassette series created by Martin Breese - now owned by Lybrary.com.]

runtime: 45 minutes

Dr. Cannon was probably magic's most unusual character. He lived for many years on the Isle of Man where he ran a healing sanctuary. He had his own fully equipped theatre - The Enchanted Hall. Goodliffe, who was afflicted by a crippling disease, was encouraged by Dr. Cannon to take a free course of treatment.

Goodliffe knew Cannon well as a result and provides an absorbing portrait of this man on the recording. Of course you hear Cannon speaking as well. Fraud, fake or genuine mystic? Decide for yourself after listening to yet another voice from the mysterious past.

Believe it or not,...

The renowned sideshow showman Ward Hall reminisced about the time Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Combined Circus attracted a record-breaking crowd of over 20,000 people inside the sideshow. "The Greatest Show on Earth" was playing Montreal during the 1950s. However, over a decade later, Giovanni Iuliani surpassed this world-breaking record many times over.

200,000 ATTENDANCE RECORD!

In 1966, Giovanni Iuliani presented 5 major freak phenomena alive on a high elevated stage at two Montreal movie houses. These high attendance halls each featured on their giant screen the classic horror...

There once was a dream world that travelled at night on a train full of possibilities. This was the Golden Age of the circus (1880-1930s). Aboard this magical train, you would find circus performers, a menagerie of exotic animals and those known as "freaks".

Also called human prodigies, the "freaks" were born with special physicalities. Among these were giants, midgets, siamese-twins, etc. All were gathered inside a giant tent known as the sideshow (or annex attraction).

Get ready to see many astonishing if not shocking pictures. The Archives of Human Prodigies is published in three...

Freaks, strange people, monsters, and even prodigies are some of the words used to describe the human beings that you will find in this ebook. While we realize that today many of these words might be considered "politically incorrect" we have taken the liberty of using these terms insofar as to better communicate the mindset of the sideshow people of that era. No disrespect is intended.

At the time, sideshows went by many different names, among these: dime museums of one kind or another and tent attractions, fronted by huge banners, depicting very unusual people and or animals. Curiosities...

More unusual people including super fat, slim, tall, small, and many other freaks of nature. Learn about giants such as Chang Yu Sang, Edward Beaupré, Allen E. Tilden, Conrad Furrows, Bimbo, Sgt. Emmet M. Stephens, Capt. George Dowling or John Aasen. Or perhaps you are more interested in midgets such as Lynn Major White, Lia Graf, Tom Thumb, Major Rhinehart, Doletta Boykins, and Major Mite. Many more identified and unidentified prodigies are documented.

1st edition 2013, 62 pages.

In this ebook, George Boston, old time magician, takes his readers behind the scenes of the magic shows. Associate and confidant of the great men of magic, he recalls the greatest "tricks" in his memory and in many cases tells "how it was done." The great names of magic - Thurston, Blackstone, Houdini, Kellar, Carter and Nicola - appear in these pages. The book is liberally illustrated with many photographs, and is written in the highly readable style that has made Robert Parrish's For Magicians Only and New Ways to Mystify such popular favorites.

• About the Authors
• Introduction
• 1 How I Became a Magician
• 2 The Illusion Show
• 3 Thurston's Mysteries of India ...

Stories of card and revolver play, told by a man who "worked" the trains with his confederates in the days when stakes ran high.

If one believes this account, then a lot of the crooked gambling on trains was simply theft at gunpoint rather than sophisticated sleight-of-hand card advantage play.

1st edition 1910, PDF 7 pages.

Fifty years a member of the Magic Circle and then President. One of the best known personalities of the magical world will hold your attention with memorable accounts of how he met David Devant and was given private lessons by the great illusionist himself. Francis talks about happenings at Royal Command performances and dramatic happenings at the Magic Circle over the years. This is living history.

This is a licensed reproduction of the famous Magicassette series created by Martin Breese - now owned by Lybrary.com.

An ebook honoring those great women in magic, some from the past centuries. A world survey of "Those Beautiful Dames." Featuring among others Debbie Henning. Dan Waldron has a section on the Blackstone Saga, covering the magical life of Harry Senior, then the Blackstone, Jr. we know. Beautiful and talented women figured in both their lives, with Gay Blackstone a star in the Blackstone show. Marion Nicola writes of her show and life with the Great Nicola, Val Andrews covers many famous lady assistants. Carol Roy, Mrs. Electric releases the inside story of their adventures in odd parts of the...

Listen to one of the old timers talking about his friendship with Dai Vernon, T. Nelson Downs and many other big names. If you haven't read the Magic Of Faucett Ross by Lewis Ganson, then this recording will send you to your nearest magical dealer to buy it. If you have the book, then you will see how Lewis Ganson used the material of this recording to create the classic book. One of the funniest recordings in our collection.

This is a licensed reproduction of the famous Magicassette and MagiCD series created by Martin Breese - now owned by Lybrary.com.

This is a collection of wonderful poker stories, some obviously pure fiction, some based on true facts, at least some of the actors are historical figures that did indeed exist. It reveals a good amount of how card sharps plied their trade, and illustrates many of the local differences in playing draw poker.

The book has been illustrated by Ike Morgan of Frank Baum and Wizard of Oz fame.

• CHAPTER I
  • What Is Poker
  • Its Origin, And Why We Like It
• CHAPTER II
  • The Early Days Of Poker
  • Steamboat Games
  • A Mammoth Raise
  • Bowie's Good Deed
• CHAPTER III
  • Poker In Washington
  • A Story Of...

Reminiscences of the life of humorist Artemus Ward (Charles Farrar Browne) and pictures of a showman's career in the Western world.

A wonderful account of show business by the example of the humorist Artemus Ward during the 19th century. In particular, it describes how performers had to travel through the US during the 1860s, how they had to advertise and promote their shows, including the characters they encountered and the situations they had to master.

For conjurers most interesting is chapter 25: Spiritualism And Conjuring. This tells of how Hingston and Browne helped a conjurer by...

One of the world's foremost authorities on magic books, palming coins and tokens, Mr. Heyl brings you a fascinating ebook on collecting. Includes: Early American Editions of Robert Houdin's Autobiography, Boy's Own Book, American Magic Books, Odd and Unusual Books, Two Worthy Wizards, Mythical Magic Books, Cards for Conjuring, 17th Century Notes, Dainty Conceits, Hocus Pocus, Peripheral Bibliographies, Magic, Black and White, The Cheaters, Rid, Rowlands, Juggling, Sports and Pastimes, Scarce and Rare, Little Known Conjurer's Medals and Tokens.

[This is a collection of articles that appeared in the MUM a long time ago.

1st edition 1964, 1st...

Eddie Joseph who was born in India and lived there for most of his life. He wanted to write a detailed, true and unbiased description of the Indian magician and his methods. He penetrated deeply into the subject rather than give it superficial treatment. This ebook will give you a clear perspective of India's Mystery Mongers and their mysterious creations.

1st edition 1940; PDF 73 pages.

3. Introduction
9. Chapter One - Mystery Abounding
16. Chapter Two - Peering Beyond the Horizon
23. Chapter Three - The Gypsy Told Me So
24. Chapter Four - The Magicians of East India
28. Chapter Five - East Indian Mysteries ...